UTair’s chief executive, Andrey Martirosov, warned that a third of the airline’s helicopter fleet could be taken out of service if spare parts shortages persist.
He explained during the HeliRussia helicopter industry exhibition that the forecast for the fleet hinges on ongoing parts supply. If the situation does not improve, he said, there could be a 30% halt in operations. The assessment, he noted, is likely similar for other operators as well (quoted by RIA Novosti).
Martirosov emphasized that the most acute shortages are in helicopter engines, affecting both foreign-made engines and domestically produced ones. The lack of units and components is eroding revenue and driving customers to seek alternate solutions, according to UTair’s president.
UTair Helicopter Services, a subsidiary of UTair, operates a fleet of more than 300 helicopters, including 158 variants and seven Mi-26Ts from the Mi-8 family.
forced repair
Earlier, the parent company of Russian Helicopters restricted the extension of service life for older Mi-8 and Mi-26 aircraft. That policy could lead to the retirement of more than a thousand aircraft over the next two to three years. The aim appears to be to replace aging components as flight hours accumulate, a plan that could prompt operators to accelerate new purchases. Martirosov noted that Mi-26 helicopters were frequently valued at around $40 million or more when sold to UTair.
The UTair leader argued that the policy bans could push up the price of new Mi-26s by roughly two to 2.5 times, forcing helicopter operators to raise service fees. He warned that flight hours would drop in tandem, with Mi-26s, which typically logged about 5,000 hours per year in Russia, shrinking to roughly 1,500–2,000 hours annually if the bans persist.
Sanctions against the Russian Federation
In the wake of Russia’s military action in Ukraine, the United States and several other nations implemented sanctions that restricted imports of weapons, advanced components, and aircraft parts. On April 3, the U.S. Department of Commerce extended export controls for another six months targeting Russian aviation, including UTair and AzurAir, to continue curbing access to strategic goods.
Nevertheless, reporting from a major newspaper indicates that, even with these measures, large shipments of spare parts were moved into Russia last year for aircraft built by Boeing, Airbus, and other makers. The article noted that airlines such as Aeroflot, Rossiya, Pobeda, Ural Airlines, S7, and UTair were among the last buyers, with goods routed through intermediaries in the Middle East and Asia.